For the 12th season in a row, the Cerritos College women's soccer team has captured the South Coast Conference championship. The Falcons (17-1-1, 7-0-0), winners of their last 13 games, posted a 2-0 shutout against second place Long Beach City College on Thursday to earn the title. The two teams will close out the regular season on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at Cerritos in a rescheduled game from October 10. The Vikings needed to beat the Falcons twice in order to win the South Division title. The first round of the Southern California Regional Playoffs will get underway on Saturday, October 18.
Scoreless after the first half, the Falcons didn't get on the scoreboard until the 63rd minute when sophomore Itzel Ballesteros (Maywood Academy HS) collected her state-leading 24th assist when she fed a through-pass to freshman Stephanie Nava (Shadow Ridge, NV HS), who chipped the ball past LBCC goalkeeper Angelique Anguiano for her eighth goal of the season. The 24 assists by Ballesteros moves her closer to the school-record of 28 in a season by Nayeli Requejo in 2014.
Long Beach City was able to stay within striking distance, thanks to Anguiano, who made five saves. On the other side of the field, freshman goalkeeper Deisy Rodriguez (Katella HS) wasn't required to make any saves, as the Vikings took six shots, with none of them on goal. It was her sixth complete game shutout of the season, while she has been part of 12 shutouts on the year.
With time running out in the game, Cerritos took advantage of Long Beach City moving their defensive players up for more scoring chances. That allowed sophomore Maria Hernandez (Sierra Vista HS) to connect with freshman Mia Ramirez (Torrance HS), who got past the defense and added an insurance goal in extra time. It was her 25th goal of the season, which gets her a little closer to the school's freshman goal record of 32, which was set in 2007 by Corina Villegas.
January 20, 2018
W. Soccer: Trio of players receive their All-American awards
December 7, 2017
W. Soccer: Falcons have three named All-American
November 25, 2017
W. Soccer: State championship reign comes to an end
November 21, 2017
W. Soccer: Pair of first half goals powers Falcons in playoff win
November 18, 2017
W. Soccer: Defending champs advance with OT win
November 15, 2017
W. Soccer: Team sweeps divisional awards
November 14, 2017
W. Soccer: Cerritos seeded #4 for playoffs
November 11, 2017
W. Soccer: Win extends streak to 14 games in a row
November 9, 2017
W. Soccer: Falcons clinch division title with win
November 7, 2017
Cerritos soccer to host Operation Care Package
November 7, 2017
W. Soccer: Divisional title one win away for Falcons
November 3, 2017
W. Soccer: Shutout extends win streak to 11 games
October 31, 2017
W. Soccer: Stephanie Nava scores three times in win
October 27, 2017
W. Soccer: Trio of second half goals leads Falcons
October 24, 2017
W. Soccer: Weather and depth leads Falcons to win
October 20, 2017
W. Soccer: Early deficit doesn't faze Falcons in 3-1 win
October 17, 2017
W. Soccer: Mia Ramirez scores three times in win
October 13, 2017
W. Soccer: Victory over Mt. SAC extends win streak to five
October 6, 2017
W. Soccer: Itzel Ballesteros ties school record in win
October 3, 2017
W. Soccer: Offense puts nine on the board in win
September 29, 2017
W. Soccer: Falcons open divisional play with win
September 24, 2017
W. Soccer: Cerritos rebounds after first home loss in five years
September 20, 2017
W. Soccer: Home loss first in five years for the Falcons
September 19, 2017
W. Soccer: Team to honor 2007 state championship team
September 15, 2017
W. Soccer: Cerritos remains unbeaten after win
September 12, 2017
W. Soccer: First home game yields 7-1 win
September 10, 2017
W. Soccer: Falcons put four on the board in shutout win
September 7, 2017
W. Soccer: Team held scoreless in draw
August 29, 2017
W. Soccer: Cerritos explodes for 11 goals in season opener